Crime & Safety
Baby Allegedly Run Over by Suspected Drunken Driver Taken Off Life Support
Family members identified the toddler as Liam Mikael Kowal, the son of a semi-professional fighter named Marcus Kowal.
HAWTHORNE, CA — A 15-month-old boy was disconnected from life support machines Sunday, a day after he and a teenager were apparently run over by a 72- year-old hit-and-run motorist at a Hawthorne intersection.
Family members identified the toddler as Liam Mikael Kowal, the son of a semi-professional fighter named Marcus Kowal. The coroner had not issued a formal identification by midday Monday.
Surgeons at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit were able to stabilize the child, said Hawthorne police Lt. Ti Goetz.
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After conducting several medical tests throughout the weekend to confirm the original prognosis, the child's family decided to remove the boy off life support. The child died Sunday, he said.
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"Unfortunately, medical scans indicated the child shows no signs of brain activity and doctors determined the child did not have any chances of recovery," Goetz said.
Donna Marie Higgins, the suspected hit-and-run motorist, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and felony drunken driving. She was released from the Hawthorne jail on $100,000 bail.
"She bailed out on the lesser charge, prior to the child passing," Goetz said. "Our traffic investigators are considering their options for further action regarding the new situation.
"There will be charges added that reflect the outcome of the collision."
Witnesses followed the SUV and its incapacitated driver for about one block, then used their own vehicles to box in Higgins' SUV until police arrived, police said.
Officers were called to the 4:15 p.m. Saturday scene at the intersection of 133rd Street and Hawthorne Boulevard.
It was later determined that the 15-year-old girl was pushing the baby stroller inside the crosswalk, where they were struck by an SUV driven by Higgins.
The girl was identified as the baby's aunt by family members, who said she was hospitalized with serious leg injuries.
— City News Service, photo via Shutterstock
